Oscillation criteria for fractional impulsive hybrid partial differential equations

In this paper, we study the oscillatory behavior of the solutions of fractional-order nonlinear impulsive hybrid partial differential equations with the mixed boundary condition. By using the integral averaging method and the Riccati technique, we have obtained the oscillation criteria of all the solutions of the given system. An example is given to illustrate our main results

Research of Physical-Chemical and Ecological Characteristics of Ukkadam Lake Water Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, India

Degradation of lake water quality has been seen for many years, particularly in lakes close to urban areas with human activity. The goal of the current inquiry was to identify the various physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the surface water quality of several lakes in Coimbatore, India. The significance of the sampling points was considered when choosing them. Water samples were mostly taken from open wells in and around the Coimbatore district from the following sampling locations: Ukkadam Lake. The physical-chemical characteristics, such as total dissolved solids, pH, electrical conductivity, biochemical oxygen requirement, faeces coliforms, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity, Alkalinity, Sulphate, Nitrate, Phosphate, Chlorides. The findings indicated that lake water samples taken at several locations in and around Coimbatore city were above WHO criteria

Existence theory of fractional order three-dimensional differential system at resonance

This paper deals with three-dimensional differential system of nonlinear fractional order problem \begin{align*} D^{\alpha}_{0^{+}}\upsilon(\varrho) = f(\varrho,\omega(\varrho),\omega^{\prime}(\varrho),\omega^{\prime\prime}(\varrho),...,\omega^{(n-1)}(\varrho)), \; \varrho \in (0,1),\\ D^{\beta}_{0^{+}}\nu(\varrho) = g(\varrho, \upsilon(\varrho),\upsilon^{\prime}(\varrho),\upsilon^{\prime\prime}(\varrho),...,\upsilon^{(n-1)}(\varrho)), \; \varrho \in (0,1),\\ D^{\gamma}_{0^{+}}\omega(\varrho) = h(\varrho,\nu(\varrho),\nu^{\prime}(\varrho),\nu^{\prime\prime}(\varrho),...,\nu^{(n-1)}(\varrho)), \; \varrho \in (0,1), \end{align*} with the boundary conditions, \begin{align*} \upsilon(0) = \upsilon^{\prime}(0) = ... = \upsilon^{(n-2)}(0) = 0,\; \upsilon^{(n-1)}(0) = \upsilon^{(n-1)}(1),\\ \nu(0) = \nu^{\prime}(0) = ... = \nu^{(n-2)}(0) = 0,\; \nu^{(n-1)}(0) = \nu^{(n-1)}(1),\\ \omega(0) = \omega^{\prime}(0) = ... = \omega^{(n-2)}(0) = 0,\; \omega^{(n-1)}(0) = \omega^{(n-1)}(1), \end{align*} where $D^{\alpha}_{0^{+}}, D^{\beta}_{0^{+}}, D^{\gamma}_{0^{+}}$ are the standard Caputo fractional derivative, n-1 < \alpha, \beta, \gamma \leq n, \; n \geq 2 and we derive sufficient conditions for the existence of solutions to the fraction order three-dimensional differential system with boundary value problems via Mawhin's coincidence degree theory, and some new existence results are obtained. Finally, an illustrative example is presented.</p

Clinical Study Maternal Hypotension during Fetoscopic Surgery: Incidence and Its Impact on Fetal Survival Outcomes

In this retrospective cohort study, we aimed to determine the incidence of intraoperative maternal hypotension during fetoscopic surgery for twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) and to evaluate the impact of intraoperative hypotension on fetal survival. A total of 328 TTTS patients with recipient twin cardiomyopathy who underwent fetoscopic surgery under epidural anesthesia were included. The exposure of interest was maternal medical therapy with nifedipine for the treatment of fetal cardiomyopathy. We found that intraoperative hypotension occurred in 53.4% (175/328 patients). There was no statistically significant difference in incidence of hypotension between nifedipine exposure and nonexposure groups (54.8% versus 50.8%, = 0.479). However, the nifedipine exposure group received a statistically significant higher dose of phenylephrine (7.04 ± 6.38 mcg/kg versus 4.70 ± 4.14 mcg/kg, = 0.018) and higher doses of other vasopressor, as counted by number of treatments (6.06 ± 4.58 versus 4.96 ± 3.42, = 0.022). There were no statistically significant differences in acute fetal survival rate (within 5 days) and fetal survival rate at birth between hypotensive and nonhypotensive patients. We concluded that preoperative exposure to nifedipine resulted in increased intraoperative maternal vasopressor requirement during fetoscopic surgery under epidural anesthesia. In patients who had intraoperative maternal hypotension, there was no correlation between the presence of maternal hypotension and postoperative fetal survival

Prenatal opioid exposure significantly impacts placental protein kinase C (PKC) and drug transporters, leading to drug resistance and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome

BackgroundNeonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) is a consequence of in-utero exposure to prenatal maternal opioids, resulting in the manifestation of symptoms like irritability, feeding problems, tremors, and withdrawal signs. Opioid use disorder (OUD) during pregnancy can profoundly impact both mother and fetus, disrupting fetal brain neurotransmission and potentially leading to long-term neurological, behavioral, and vision issues, and increased infant mortality. Drug resistance complicates OUD and NOWS treatment, with protein kinase regulation of drug transporters not fully understood.MethodsDNA methylation levels of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) and solute carrier (SLC) drug transporters, along with protein kinase C (PKC) genes, were assessed in 96 placental samples using the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC array (850K). Samples were collected from three distinct groups: 32 mothers with infants prenatally exposed to opioids who needed pharmacological intervention for NOWS, 32 mothers with prenatally opioid-exposed infants who did not necessitate NOWS treatment, and 32 mothers who were not exposed to opioids during pregnancy.ResultsWe identified 69 significantly differentially methylated SLCs, with 24 hypermethylated and 34 hypomethylated, and 11 exhibiting both types of methylation changes including SLC13A3, SLC15A2, SLC16A11, SLC16A3, SLC19A2, and SLC26A1. We identified methylation changes in 11 ABC drug transporters (ABCA1, ABCA12, ABCA2, ABCB10, ABCB5, ABCC12, ABCC2, ABCC9, ABCE1, ABCC7, ABCB3): 3 showed hypermethylation, 3 hypomethylation, and 5 exhibited both. Additionally, 7 PKC family genes (PRKCQ, PRKAA1, PRKCA, PRKCB, PRKCH, PRKCI, and PRKCZ) showed methylation changes. These genes are associated with 13 pathways involved in NOWS, including ABC transporters, bile secretion, pancreatic secretion, insulin resistance, glutamatergic synapse, and gastric acid secretion.ConclusionWe report epigenetic changes in PKC-related regulation of drug transporters, which could improve our understanding of clinical outcomes like drug resistance, pharmacokinetics, drug-drug interactions, and drug toxicity, leading to maternal relapse and severe NOWS. Novel drugs targeting PKC pathways and transporters may improve treatment outcomes for OUD in pregnancy and NOWS

Resting state functional MRI in infants with prenatal opioid exposure-a pilot study

PURPOSE: Exposure to prenatal opioids may adversely impact the developing brain networks. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate alterations in amygdalar functional connectivity in human infants with prenatal opioid exposure. METHODS: In this prospective IRB approved study, we performed resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) in 10 infants with prenatal opioid exposure and 12 infants without prenatal drug exposure at < 48 weeks corrected gestational age. Following standard preprocessing, we performed seed-based functional connectivity analysis with the right and left amygdala as the regions of interest after correcting for maternal depression and infant sex. We compared functional connectivity of the amygdala network between infants with and without prenatal opioid exposure. RESULTS: There were significant differences in connectivity of the amygdala seed regions to the several cortical regions including the medial prefrontal cortex in infants who had prenatal opioid exposure when compared with opioid naïve infants. CONCLUSION: This finding of increased amygdala functional connectivity in infants with in utero opioid exposure suggests a potential role of maternal opioid exposure on infants' altered amygdala function. This association with prenatal exposure needs to be replicated in future larger studies

Characterisation of a Novel White Laccase from the Deuteromycete Fungus Myrothecium verrucaria NF-05 and Its Decolourisation of Dyes

A novel ‘white’ laccase was purified from the deuteromycete fungus, Myrothecium verrucaria NF-05, which was a high laccase-producing strain (40.2 U·ml−1 on the thirteenth day during fermentation). SDS-PAGE and native-PAGE revealed a single band with laccase activity corresponding to a molecular weight of approximately 66 kDa. The enzyme had three copper and one iron atoms per protein molecule determined by ICP-AES. Furthermore, both UV/visible and EPR spectroscopy remained silence, indicating the enzyme a novel laccase with new metal compositions of active centre and spectral properties. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified protein was APQISPQYPM. Together with MALDI-TOF analysis, the protein revealed a high homology of the protein with that from reported M. verrucaria. The highest activity was detected at pH 4.0 and at 30°C. The enzyme activity was significantly enhanced by Na+, Mn2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+ while inhibited by DTT, NaN3 and halogen anions. The kinetic constant (Km) showed the enzyme was more affinitive to ABTS than other tested aromatic substrates. Twelve structurally different dyes could be effectively decolourised by the laccase within 10 min. The high production of the strain and novel properties of the laccase suggested its potential for biotechnological applications

Preoperative dexamethasone reduces postoperative pain, nausea and vomiting following mastectomy for breast cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dexamethasone has been reported to reduce postoperative symptoms after different surgical procedures. We evaluated the efficacy of preoperative dexamethasone in ameliorating postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), and pain after mastectomy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 70 patients scheduled for mastectomy with axillary lymph node dissection were analyzed after randomization to treatment with 8 mg intravenous dexamethasone (<it>n </it>= 35) or placebo (<it>n </it>= 35). All patients underwent standardized procedures for general anesthesia and surgery. Episodes of PONV and pain score were recorded on a visual analogue scale. Analgesic and antiemetic requirements were also recorded.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Demographic and medical variables were similar between groups. The incidence of PONV was lower in the dexamethasone group at the early postoperative evaluation (28.6% <it>vs</it>. 60%; <it>p </it>= 0.02) and at 6 h (17.2% <it>vs</it>. 45.8%; <it>p </it>= 0.03). More patients in the placebo group required additional antiemetic medication (21 <it>vs</it>. 8; <it>p </it>= 0.01). Dexamethasone treatment significantly reduced postoperative pain just after surgery (VAS score, 4.54 ± 1.55 <it>vs</it>. 5.83 ± 2.00; <it>p </it>= 0.004), at 6 h (3.03 ± 1.20 <it>vs</it>. 4.17 ± 1.24; <it>p </it>< 0.0005) and at 12 h (2.09 ± 0.85 <it>vs</it>. 2.54 ± 0.98; <it>p </it>= 0.04). Analgesics were required in more patients of the control group (21 <it>vs</it>. 10; <it>p </it>= 0.008). There were no adverse events, morbidity or mortality.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Preoperative intravenous dexamethasone (8 mg) can significantly reduce the incidence of PONV and pain in patients undergoing mastectomy with axillary dissection for breast cancer.</p> <p>Trial registration number</p> <p>NCT01116713</p

Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers

Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)